Meri Brown and her Wet Bar of Tears

[Snarklepuss]

I can't shake the feeling that Meri was strong-armed into the divorce so this little "acting out" affair with what she thought was a real man was her effort to pay Kody back for guilting her into divorcing him so he could marry Robyn.  And she knew damned well that adopting Robyn's kids was a cover or only part of the story, as all of us plainly saw by the eager way K and R ran to the altar all the while playing down their jubilation.  I think having an affair with another real man was the revenge she was seeking but not some psycho case going to the tabloids.  I can only feel so sorry for her though because how stupid and desperate could somebody be?  Seriously.  Not that she deserves this but still....She could have walked out on Kody at any time - I still say she was unwilling to do that because she was being paid too handsomely by the show to walk away.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[DakotaJustice]

If what this article says about Robyn is true, then I think that she is truly evil. Not just sneaky and conniving, sociopathic evil, and the rest of the family needs to get away from her. If this is true, it would show that there is no limit to how low she would go to get what she wants. Maybe that's why Jessop gave up the kids. Maybe he's afraid of her.

 

I hope that gets across to all the diehard fans.  I believe you are spot on.

[MonicaM]

Meri is an adult and shoulders her fair share of the blame for this debacle, but Kody shares an equal amount.  Since Robyn came on the scene, he has emotionally abandoned each of the other wives.  Jenelle has always seemed pretty checked out, so it might have bothered her less, but Meri and Christine have genuinely suffered.  I can only imagine how down emotionally Meri had to be to be vulnerable to this kind of fraud.  

 

I tend to believe that Robyn knew it was a scam all along, and it wouldn't surprise me if Kody knew as well.  Neither of them are nice people and it was probably funny to them to watch Meri pour her heart into a non existent relationship.  

 

Apparently nothing that happened was illegal, so the perpetrator won't face any consequences.  Too bad, because people like that don't deserve to be out and about in society.

[greekmom]

On one hand I feel sorry for Meri as she was catfished. On the other hand I feel that karma got her. Sure they had their ups and downs as 3 wives married to the douchebag but they had things in some sort of working order.  Meri and Jenelle actually had jobs. Christine was home looking after the kids.  The Douchbag had a job. All the kids lived in the same house and had access to their parents and siblings.  Now they are in a clusterfrack mess because of the introduction of Sobyn and TLC business.  If it was TLC just had specials of them as a plyg family with the 3 wives and the douche, I know I still would have caught the trainwreck.  Adding the 4th wife was unnecessary and in the long run I think ruined the dynamics of the family.

Meri you made your wetbar. Either you lie in it or get the frack out.

[deedee2]

 Adding the 4th wife was unnecessary and in the long run I think ruined the dynamics of the family.

Dumb question: I didn't start (sporadically) watching this show until a couple of seasons in. Did it start off with just the 3 wives? If so, how many seasons did that go on for, and at what point was Robyn introduced into the clan?

[greekmom]

Dumb question: I didn't start (sporadically) watching this show until a couple of seasons in. Did it start off with just the 3 wives? If so, how many seasons did that go on for, and at what point was Robyn introduced into the clan?

Season 1 was basically the fact that they introduced this family and they were planning to add wife #4. It ended with the wedding

[DeusExMaraschino]

deedee,  The first season started off with the original recipe wives, while Kody was "courting" extra crispy wife Robyn at first long distance.  Robyn then moved into a house nearby in Utah and Christine was pregnant with Truely.  The first season ended with Robyn and Kody's wedding celebration.  (not legal of course).  It was an interesting season because the original recipe wives all lived in the same house.  

[deedee2]

Thanks for the responses, Greekmom & DeusExMaraschino .

 

One more question: I've read many comments here that Meri is the one who somewhat orchestrated the Robyn/Kody matchmaking. How did she do this? And why? What was her motivation for bringing in a 4th wife? Was it so that she'd have an ally the way Janelle and Christine have each other?

Edited October 8, 2015 by deedee2

[Dramastically]

I finally decided to register instead of just lurking. Hi, everyone.

 

Robyn knew about the affair but that doesn't necessarily mean she knew it was a catfish and was sitting back laughing at Meri. I'm not a big Robyn fan but I don't think she's as evil as people make her out to be either.

 

 

From Jackie's blog

There were a few outsiders that were aware of the affair. Lindsay was the first one, then Kendra, then Robyn. Those 3 have insider info about what was going on. Lindsay on my side, Kendra in the middle between my side and her side, and Robyn on her side. Those 3 people can comment because they were involved, well after the affair started.

 

[MonicaM]

I may be wrong, but the way I remember how Robyn was added is that Kody wanted a fourth wife - partly to feed his ego, but also because he had pitched the idea of the television show to TLC and that included following a polygamist family as they added a new wife.  Meri was the one who suggested Robyn.  However, I don't think that was because she wanted Kody to take another wife, but because she wanted a say in who ended up as fourth wife.  She obviously had no idea how disruptive and manipulative Robyn would be for her and the entire family. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by MonicaM

[DeusExMaraschino]

 

One more question: I've read many comments here that Meri is the one who somewhat orchestrated the Robyn/Kody matchmaking. How did she do this? And why? What was her motivation for bringing in a 4th wife? Was it so that she'd have an ally the way Janelle and Christine have each other?

 

 

That is the speculation.  If you read the book (please don't judge me lol) I believe Meri met Robyn at a church dance, where Robyn was visiting her sister who lived near the Browns.  They became friends while Meri was grooming her for Kody,  Kody was at first grossed out by Robyn being a divorcee with 3 children because any woman who is not pure and undefiled in her early 30s is clearly trash and disgusting.  Robyn had retreated into an alternate personality to handle the stress of being the only single mom who ever had to take care of her kids.  But she managed to overcome her fear of moving into an environment where her bills were covered and she had free daycare, and got to be a trophy wife.  Kody managed to talk his huge heart into multiplying love x4 and so Robyn and he were dating while Christine was pregnant with her youngest child.  I guess their culture generally only dates aka courts for a couple months but because they were filming the first season for TLC, they drew the courting out for maximum ratings.  Truly, a love story for the ages.  

Edited October 8, 2015 by DeusExMaraschino

[CofCinci]

From Jackie's blog:

There were a few outsiders that were aware of the affair. Lindsay was the first one, then Kendra, then Robyn. Those 3 have insider info about what was going on. Lindsay on my side, Kendra in the middle between my side and her side, and Robyn on her side. Those 3 people can comment because they were involved, well after the affair started.

Lindsay ain't even real.  Lindsay is Sam is Jackie.  How can Lindsay comment?

[Dramastically]

Jackie just posted this

 

 

I am very happy
October 7, 2015 | Filed under: General
Things went in a heck of a direction today. I’m happy and moving forward in my life. If you love someone, fight for them. And you will be surprised what happens

 

Is she trying to claim she won Meri back with this? She also deleted the other posts about Meri.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Dramastically

[Christi]

"Quote

There were a few outsiders that were aware of the affair. Lindsay was the first one, then Kendra, then Robyn. Those 3 have insider info about what was going on. Lindsay on my side, Kendra in the middle between my side and her side, and Robyn on her side. Those 3 people can comment because they were involved, well after the affair started."

But Lindsey IS the catfish, so of course she knew first lol. Im friends with Kendra and Sam on fb...I took a bullet and am pretending to be dumb and supportive

Edited October 8, 2015 by Christi

[CofCinci]

This Catfish story is working in Meri's favor.  She now has 113k Twitter followers (probably a couple thousand are Jackie Overton though).

 

Kody: 87.6K

Robyn: 105K

Christine: 101K

Janelle: 107K

[Christi]

Hot off the press

http://allaboutthetea.com/2015/10/07/meri-brown-and-tlc-hiding-the-identity-of-catfish-scammer/

[deedee2]

 Kody managed to talk his huge heart into multiplying love x4 and so Robyn and he were dating while Christine was pregnant with her youngest child. 

1. How did Kody talk his huge heart into not being grossed out by Robyn's defiled, impure, previously-used "trashy" self?

2. Openly dating someone else while your wife is pregnant is obscene.

[Christi]

Sam is supposed to be very very rich, but he posted on fb that he was going to walmart to get dog food. I commented that he need to buy better quality food...and he wrote back and said his dog loves Old Roy dog food...hahahaha

Its Walmart brand...and NOT a food that a wealthy metro sexual dude would EVER give their dog...omg

Jackie needs to step up her game

1. How did Kody talk his huge heart into not being grossed out by Robyn's defiled, impure, previously-used "trashy" self?

2. Openly dating someone else while your wife is pregnant is obscene.

Cause she was wearing $1000 of Victoria Secret crap...duh!

[Dramastically]

"Quote

There were a few outsiders that were aware of the affair. Lindsay was the first one, then Kendra, then Robyn. Those 3 have insider info about what was going on. Lindsay on my side, Kendra in the middle between my side and her side, and Robyn on her side. Those 3 people can comment because they were involved, well after the affair started."

But Lindsey IS the catfish, so of course she knew first lol. Im friends with Kendra and Sam on fb...I took a bullet and am pretending to be dumb and supportive

Im also in a private group of Kendra's . She said in that group, that she met Robyn a long time ago...business related..but who the hell knows

Hey...thats on Sams fb page too!! Exactly!

Wtf!! Im dyyyying

I'm kind of confused about your replies to my comments. It sounds like you think I'm unaware that Jackie/Sam/Lindsay are the same person.

[SometimesBites]

This Catfish story is working in Meri's favor.  She now has 113k Twitter followers (probably a couple thousand are Jackie Overton though).

*wipes Not Your Father's Rootbeer off laptop screen

[RazzleberryPie]

That is the speculation.  If you read the book (please don't judge me lol) I believe Meri met Robyn at a church dance, where Robyn was visiting her sister who lived near the Browns.  They became friends while Meri was grooming her for Kody,  Kody was at first grossed out by Robyn being a divorcee with 3 children because any woman who is not pure and undefiled in her early 30s is clearly trash and disgusting.  Robyn had retreated into an alternate personality to handle the stress of being the only single mom who ever had to take care of her kids.  But she managed to overcome her fear of moving into an environment where her bills were covered and she had free daycare, and got to be a trophy wife.  Kody managed to talk his huge heart into multiplying love x4 and so Robyn and he were dating while Christine was pregnant with her youngest child.  I guess their culture generally only dates aka courts for a couple months but because they were filming the first season for TLC, they drew the courting out for maximum ratings.  Truly, a love story for the ages.  

They may have initiated a courtship at a dance, but they all knew each other. They're all related.

 

Christine and Robyn's ex husband, David, are first cousins. David is Kody's 3rd cousin. Robyn is related to Meri's dad's other wife (he has multiple wives).

They were all a part of similar churches. The polygamy world isn't that large. They had to have an idea of who Robyn was as well as her character, and vice versa. Kody, Meri, Robyn and to an extent Janelle and Christine (for staying and allowing behavior to continue) are all reaping what they've sowed.

 

That said, I have zero desire to hear Meri's voicemail or see a sex tape. Publishing those intimate declarations of love is just vile and low. 

[deedee2]

Cause she was wearing $1000 of Victoria Secret crap...duh!

Yeah, but how did he justify it publicly? I assume he expressed on the show his initial disgust with non-virgin-Robyn, no? So what did he say changed his mind? Or did that just get glossed over, leaving the viewers to assume that Kody is a just an awesome guy - tolerant, progressive, and forgiving? :-D

[DeusExMaraschino]

Yeah, but how did he justify it publicly? I assume he expressed on the show his initial disgust with non-virgin-Robyn, no? So what did he say changed his mind? Or did that just get glossed over, leaving the viewers to assume that Kody is a just an awesome guy - tolerant, progressive, and forgiving? :-D

I can't remember exactly what he said on the show but I remember he was put off by the fact she was divorced.  If I recall he prayed a lot and searched his heart etc.  Then he was moping around the house and one of the original recipe wives commented, I know what's wrong with you Kody.  You're lovesick!  Go be with her even though you already have 3 families to deal with!  

 

Robyn's amazing personality won him over, and he decided her kids were not a dealbreaker.  I guess he prayed through the problem and managed to find the tall,  thin,  fairly attractive, needy brunette acceptable enough to date.   And shows how completely normal polygamists are! They marry divorced ladies just like normal monogamists do!  

 

If you get a chance to go back and watch season 1, I recommend it.  It's very very different from the family today. Plus you get to see Kody makeout with Robyn as he runs out the door to meet Christine at the hospital for Truely's birth.  It is heartwarming. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by DeusExMaraschino

[deedee2]

Plus you get to see Kody makeout with Robyn as he runs out the door to meet Christine at the hospital for Truely's birth.  It is heartwarming. 

That's beautiful. *wiping tear*

[3girlsforus]

I can't remember exactly what he said on the show but I remember he was put off by the fact she was divorced.  If I recall he prayed a lot and searched his heart etc.  Then he was moping around the house and one of the original recipe wives commented, I know what's wrong with you Kody.  You're lovesick!  Go be with her even though you already have 3 families to deal with!  

 

Robyn's amazing personality won him over, and he decided her kids were not a dealbreaker.  I guess he prayed through the problem and managed to find the tall,  thin,  fairly attractive, needy brunette acceptable enough to date.   And shows how completely normal polygamists are! They marry divorced ladies just like normal monogamists do!  

 

If you get a chance to go back and watch season 1, I recommend it.  It's very very different from the family today. Plus you get to see Kody makeout with Robyn as he runs out the door to meet Christine at the hospital for Truely's birth.  It is heartwarming.

It's amazing how your heart can change when it's driven by your little Kody

[TexLady]

Please pardon my "newness", I just signed up.  I'm still trying to learn all the techniques for quoting, and such.  My comment is in response to the discussion of Kody supposedly not liking Robyn's divorced status, when they were introduced.  I didn't read their book, so I don't know if this was addressed:  Janelle was also divorced, before marrying Kody.  And, in fact, was Meri's sister-in-law.  I just find this family's whole revisionist history so off-putting.  And, it sure as heck casts a shadow of doubt on who-knew-what-when to the whole catfish story.

[andromeda331]

If you get a chance to go back and watch season 1, I recommend it.  It's very very different from the family today. Plus you get to see Kody makeout with Robyn as he runs out the door to meet Christine at the hospital for Truely's birth.  It is heartwarming.

Not to mention when he was at the hospital he thought it was a great time to ask the doctor

in front of the still in labor Christine about in vetro. What a great guy.

[BlackWidow]

Aww.  Meri looks so happy in the selfies she sent to Catfish. 

 

http://allaboutthetea.com/2015/10/07/new-sexy-private-photos-sister-wives-meri-brown-sent-to-catfish-lover/#disqus_thread

 

   I don't know, that stainless steel mini-fridge or whatever is pretty hot. Still think this Jock OverTon person is creepy as hell, and can't get that excited about the whole omg you either did or thought about or got all starry-eyed about some fictional character. Hell even if it weren't only a fictional character, still kinda meh. Maybe even better if it weren't a catfish, good for her- she's not my cup of tea but she has put up with a lot of BS and after all the douchbaggery old kody has dished out to her for years, it's really hard to be throwing stones at her for this- although once I heard the tapes it did not sound like it was a normal reciprocal relationship.

 

  I'm sure it sucks feeling abandoned or played with or manipulated in plyg-world and in mono -world, no one likes it either, that is not the norm- poor woman she has no experience in which to draw from except accepting push/pull/competition/withdrawal of affection/lose/gain approval  as what is normal.

 

The phone calls and things being expressed sound like things a teen girl would be going through with someone manipulating her emotions. If anything, hearing a woman we 'know' from TV go through that may actually help other women to better see when something is not healthy.Whether or not she actually met the person or they 'did anything' doesn't concern me in the sense of oh noes, loyalty to kody's svengali power has been destroyed- that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I think back to that Mexico trip ages ago, and he just doesn't get it. He didn't get it with Christine either- he probably doesn't even try with Janelle, and she likely doesn't call him on it. It's like he is missing some part of the empathy/emotional cues gene or something. He gets that weird blank look when one of the wives has a problem, like "uh oh, must put on serious, epic face' -the go to look when he has no clue what is going on. He does that look quite a lot on the couch sessions too.  Which is somewhat disturbing as I doubt he has anything like autism, he seems far too outgoing for that. Maybe he's just not wired for deep emotional stuff. Some people are like that. Can't get blood from a stone.

Edited October 8, 2015 by BlackWidow

[SometimesBites]

Please pardon my "newness", I just signed up.  I'm still trying to learn all the techniques for quoting, and such.  My comment is in response to the discussion of Kody supposedly not liking Robyn's divorced status, when they were introduced.  I didn't read their book, so I don't know if this was addressed:  Janelle was also divorced, before marrying Kody.  And, in fact, was Meri's sister-in-law.  I just find this family's whole revisionist history so off-putting.  And, it sure as heck casts a shadow of doubt on who-knew-what-when to the whole catfish story.

Oh, that's easy. On the tv show, they just avoid mentioning that little tidbit. Sure, they reference that Janelle was really friendly with Meri's family--they just leave out the part about her being Meri's sister-in-law. See how simple? ;)

[Kohola3]

I must confess that I have had a great deal of difficulty following the whole catfishing story.  Thanks to the person who cleared it up by saying Jackie, Lindsay, and Sam are all the same person.  Somehow in all of the goofy rhetoric I missed that.  Guess my mind can't wrap itself around that kind of crap.

The other mind-blowing fact is that half a million people follow these idiots on Twitter.  Seriously, get a life, people, 

[Juliegirlj]

The comment about how Kody gets that strange blank look when someone is emotional cracked me up it was spot on!! The Sam person wrote on their blog that Meri and Robyn shared a hotel room when the family went to visit Hunter, and Meri confessed to Robyn at that time, that she had strong feelings for someone else. Robyn was very upset by it, and called her BFF Kendra up crying and saying how angry she was at Meri. Sam also said that when Meri and Janelle were working through their problems ( will be on upcoming episode), Sam and Meri talked about it a lot, and worked through some of Meri's feelings. Supposedly, on that episode Meri will mention some advice that a friend gave her about the issues with Janelle, and that friend is Sam. We'll see!

[CofCinci]

It's sad that Meri's only friend was an internet troll.

Robyn crying that Meri found a boyfriend? Tears of joy. She's probably trying to find a Catfisher to get Christine out of the picture now too.

Edited October 8, 2015 by CofCinci

[DakotaJustice]

The comment about how Kody gets that strange blank look when someone is emotional cracked me up it was spot on!! The Sam person wrote on their blog that Meri and Robyn shared a hotel room when the family went to visit Hunter, and Meri confessed to Robyn at that time, that she had strong feelings for someone else. Robyn was very upset by it, and called her BFF Kendra up crying and saying how angry she was at Meri. Sam also said that when Meri and Janelle were working through their problems ( will be on upcoming episode), Sam and Meri talked about it a lot, and worked through some of Meri's feelings. Supposedly, on that episode Meri will mention some advice that a friend gave her about the issues with Janelle, and that friend is Sam. We'll see!

Probably pissed because she doesn't want Meri to be happy, or more likely she knows quite well that if Meri leaves for someone else that will be the end of the show, pretty much.

[SometimesBites]

Probably pissed because she doesn't want Meri to be happy, or more likely she knows quite well that if Meri leaves for someone else that will be the end of the show, pretty much.

The first commandment of Brown is "Thou shalt not tarnish the illusion that this shit works."

[3girlsforus]

Probably pissed because she doesn't want Meri to be happy, or more likely she knows quite well that if Meri leaves for someone else that will be the end of the show, pretty much.

 

I think she also probably knows that if Meri shows signs of wanting someone else Kody will devote attention to her to try to keep her in the fold. It's not that Kody wants Meri any more than he wants any of his wives besides Robyn, but his ego won't allow that kind of loss.  As long as there is status quo, Robyn can remain as the favored, legal, and only real wife. If one of them tries to leave Kody it could upset her spot while Kody kisses that wife's butt to get her to stay. He doesn't do that for Christine even when she expresses her unhappiness because there is really no chance she'll leave. Meri is showing those signs so it could be a threat to Robyn.

[ginger90]

The first commandment of Brown is "Thou shalt not tarnish the illusion that this shit works."

Much too late.

[deedee2]

The other mind-blowing fact is that half a million people follow these idiots on Twitter.  Seriously, get a life, people, 

Nah, I doubt it. They each have  - what - roughly 100k? Most of it is likely overlap, so you're probably looking at less than 150k total unique followers. Still, that's a lot.

[deedee2]

Probably pissed because she doesn't want Meri to be happy, or more likely she knows quite well that if Meri leaves for someone else that will be the end of the show, pretty much.

I wonder if one woman finally leaves, would others get the courage to follow. I have a feeling if Meri walked out, Janelle wouldn't be far behind. Christine seems like the type who'd be too scared to make a move like that, so I can see her sticking it out for awhile even if Meri and Janelle were gone. But somewhere down the line, Christine would get tired of being the "unloved wife", and she'd split, too - especially if Meri and Janelle were there on the "outside" as an ex-polyg support group/safety net.

 

(Then Kody would be down to one traditional, legal marriage to Robyn. So, he'd have to get crackin' and take himself a few more 30something year olds to fill up the cul-de-sac. Then Robyn would be the boring old has-been wife, and become very bitter, jealous and vindictive. And we'd have a whole new show to hate-watch!) :-D

[Snarklepuss]

The Sam person wrote on their blog that Meri and Robyn shared a hotel room when the family went to visit Hunter, and Meri confessed to Robyn at that time, that she had strong feelings for someone else. Robyn was very upset by it, and called her BFF Kendra up crying and saying how angry she was at Meri. Sam also said that when Meri and Janelle were working through their problems ( will be on upcoming episode), Sam and Meri talked about it a lot, and worked through some of Meri's feelings. Supposedly, on that episode Meri will mention some advice that a friend gave her about the issues with Janelle, and that friend is Sam. We'll see!

 

If this is true, it shows that Robyn did find out about the "relationship", which is the bridge to believing that she and Kody had a motive to push Meri into a divorce.  It was just the kind of dirt Robyn needed on Meri to get what she really wanted - to be legally married to Kody.  I'm not sure I believe that Robyn engineered the whole thing but it certainly looks to me like she took advantage of it and made it work toward her end.  Robyn probably spilled the beans to Kody which also put him on board with divorcing Meri.  It's interesting how Robyn can conveniently hide behind her self-righteous "pristine pure morals" in doing all this, meanwhile she has her own selfish motives at heart.  That's why she acted angry at Meri - she has to keep up the act of the "good wife" who would never sympathize with such a thing so as to get what she wants from Kody.  She has to act angry with Meri for her indiscretion or she wouldn't be able to take advantage of it to advance her own position.  That's a real psychopath there.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[deedee2]

If this is true, it shows that Robyn did find out about the "relationship", which is the bridge to believing that she and Kody had a motive to push Meri into a divorce. 

I'm confused with timeline. Unless I'm not remembering correctly, didn't the divorce happen in Dec 2014. and the affair from March - June 2015?

[camom]

 

if Meri leaves for someone else that will be the end of the show, pretty much.

 

If Meri (or any of them, really) left, I'd love for TLC to drop Kody et al and do a show on Meri learning to live outside the group.  That would be interesting.

[Dramastically]

I'm confused with timeline. Unless I'm not remembering correctly, didn't the divorce happen in Dec 2014. and the affair from March - June 2015?

Yes. Jackie/Sam/Lindsay/Batman had absolutely nothing to do with the divorce as they didn't know each other then.

[Snarklepuss]

I'm confused with timeline. Unless I'm not remembering correctly, didn't the divorce happen in Dec 2014. and the affair from March - June 2015?

 

I don't know if I accept the accuracy of that timeline completely.  Even if it is accurate I think Robyn had something on Meri to push her into divorce.  Meri may have been chatting up other prospects online before this "Sam" catfish and Robyn knew about them too.  I doubt Meri only did it with the one that became public knowledge.  I think she was chatting other men up well before this catfish caught her, and probably well before the divorce.  I don't think this "Sam" person was her first or only prospect.  I am thinking her behavior had to precede the divorce, although I'm just suspecting that at this point.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[JenMcSnark]

I don't know if I accept the accuracy of that timeline completely.  Even if it is accurate I think Robyn had something on Meri to push her into divorce.  Meri may have been chatting up other prospects online before this "Sam" catfish and Robyn knew about them too.  I doubt Meri only did it with the one that became public knowledge.  I think she was chatting other men up well before this catfish caught her, and probably well before the divorce.  I don't think this "Sam" person was her first or only prospect.  I am thinking her behavior had to precede the divorce, although I'm just suspecting that at this point.

 

IMO, I don't think Robyn had anything on Meri to push her into the divorce.  That would suppose that the reconning that we've seen on the show is truth.  

 

I believe they are totally retconning because the divorce was leaked shortly after it happened and long before filming happened.  And they put up all the phony decorations so that's further proof that they are trying to make us believe this season was filmed as the divorce was happening.

 

I completely buy the story that Robyn got her Victoria Secret panties in a twist because Kody supported Meri when she wanted to go back to school.  That Kody didn't force Meri to help Robyn didn't sit well with that manipulative bitch.  

 

I fully believe Robyn gave Kody an ultimatum:  No more sex and/or happy wife until you make me the legal wife. And, you better never go against me again.

 

Kody goes to Meri and convinces her that it's in the best interest of the family.  He may have even floated the "save the kids" bullshit at that time.  But, because Meri married this douchecanoe young and he was her "soul mate", she is scared to upset this world that is pretty much all that she's ever known.  Not to mention the TLC gravy train.

 

She files for divorce and the rest is history.  But none of them expected Meri to slowly come out of her shock to find herself pissed and resentful of the situation.  Even she probably didn't expect herself to turn to this handsome "guy" she met on the internet.  

 

I so want Meri to leave and spill the beans.  I agree that a show just about Meri would not be very compelling.  However, if she went to TLC and said "How would you like to pay me to move out and then you get to film the catfish fallout plus King Douche and Queen Chin dealing with the fallout with Janelle and Christine trying to keep the family together?" I have to believe TLC would jump at that and people would definitely watch.

 

Make it happen Meri and TLC. 

[DakotaJustice]

I think it was done because Robyn wanted to be #1, but also for a plot device.

The pregnancy wasn't enough.

[RazzleberryPie]

I think it was done because Robyn wanted to be #1, but also for a plot device.

The pregnancy wasn't enough.

I agree, and I also think Meri's decision to not allow Robyn to surrogate for her really turned the tables. 

 

Meri dragged that whole in vitro drama out way too long, and Robyn sanctimoniously (on camera) offering to surrogate was totally self serving (Robyn as surrogate would put her as a sacrificing heroine who would give her body to carry Kody and Meri's baby, then she could hand if off to Meri without having to raise it - win-win situation for Robyn and Kody, but then Meri stuck with a baby while they run off into the sunset). 

 

When Meri informed Robyn on camera that she didn't want a baby, that was the only moment Robyn truly looked shocked and showed true emotion, the whole time she's been on air. Meri was throwing in the towel then and probably plotting her escape via another man. I think that was the moment Robyn decided she didn't give a fuck to the whole "Meri is Alpha Wife" and started scheming to oust her. 

 

Robyn knew she had to have another baby ASAP to perpetuate the whole "I just want to follow Heavenly Father's will to be the Queen of Kody's kingdom", and if she's going to be saddled with raising two Kody babies, she might as well be legal wife Screw the rest of them. 

 

Best decision Meri has made was not to pursue a surrogacy and create a Baby Pawn. Worst catalyst to show everyone's true colors and Game of Thrones attitudes the whole surrogate issue. 

[Misslindsey]

 

I fully believe Robyn gave Kody an ultimatum:  No more sex and/or happy wife until you make me the legal wife. And, you better never go against me again.

I feel like Robyn would be a bit more passive aggressive with the whole divorce Meri story. I could see her whining to Kody about how great it would be if he could adopt her kids and too bad they are not legally married to do so nonsense. Kody buys into that. Then both of them or even just Robyn could drop those talking points into conversations with Meri to get her to think about it all.

 

I do not even like Meri, but I do wish she was legally and spiritually divorced from Kody to do as she wishes. Hell, I wish Janelle and Christine would leave too. I think they would all be happier leaving Kody and Robyn in the dust. Too bad I doubt it will happen.

[RazzleberryPie]

The sickest part, IMO, is that when Meri and Robyn sort of became frenemies and worked out this divorce plot, they STILL connived it all to leave the other two wives out of the loop and in shock when they were informed. I thought that in these circumstances, if something happened to the first wife, next wife had 'seniority' and would legally marry, but Janelle and Christine both seriously looked surprised when they announced it on camera. Christine knew she'd be 3rd in line, so I don't think she cared, but this was one more way for Meri to screw over Janelle, and for Robyn (who I think is terrified of Janelle) to get in a dig, too. Love multiplies, my ass.

[JenMcSnark]

Since I'm sticking to my theory, I have to believe Meri was as shocked as Janelle and Christine. If she was manipulated into thinking this was her idea to help save the kids, they would have teased the hell out of it.  But there was radio silence until they basically had to address it, much like this catfish story.  

 

But I do totally agree that Kody and Robyn's complete lack of regard for Janelle and Christine (and Meri of course), not to mention all of their poor children, is horrid and unforgivable.  

 

But not at all surprising. 

[Snarklepuss]

I agree, and I also think Meri's decision to not allow Robyn to surrogate for her really turned the tables. 

 

I thought it was Kody who made the decision for her and said he didn't want it - that he wasn't "feeling it in his gut".  Meri actually said she was going to tell him she wanted to do it but he didn't let her get that out.  I personally think Meri dragged her feet because she knew it would be an awful situation for her with Robyn carrying the baby, but on the other hand she was desperate to try to put her relationship with Kody back together again and of course as is often typical in cases where one part of the couple feels the other pulling away, a child is seen as a way to "fix" things.  I think Kody took her indecision as a sign that she wasn't fully invested in him or the idea of having his baby, so she may have been right to some extent to think that she could win back Kody's devotion if she had his child.  I just think she would have wanted to have it with him alone, not with Robyn's involvement, and that's why she took so long to make up her mind.  I agree with you that this was the table-turning point with Meri, though, because after that she seemed more and more checked out of her relationship with Kody and the rest of the family.  It was like having a baby was her last ditch effort to get back into Kody's heart given that Robyn had pretty much stolen it away from her, and Kody had just taken away that possibility altogether.  That's why I think Meri probably started chatting up guys online before the divorce.  I think Kody making the baby decision for her was the nail in the coffin on that relationship.  Perhaps she was not facing that she herself didn't really want to be close with him again and he just pushed her into realizing it with that decision.  He may have actually been right that she wasn't really invested in him or the idea of having the child.  I think she was hanging on to the memory of the way things once were with him and part of her was trying desperately to bring it back to that - Plus seeing Robyn having all that with him and not being able to have the same must have really hurt too.  It's sad that these women feel they have to make babies to get a man's devotion. 

 

Kodouche thinks he is so "liberated" but nothing he has done here makes him look like anything but a misogynist pig.  I can't fathom a man who would run around with another woman acting like a teenager in love and having babies while his "other women" sit home in pain watching something they only wish they could have with him.  I think it takes a special kind of psychopath to switch off his empathy in order to achieve that.  I can't imagine that Meri's pain was a secret to him but I am sure he just told her she had to "deal with it" and that was that.  It's no wonder she ended up being conned into a similar wittholding situation with the Catfish.  I don't doubt that she is used to that kind of treatment.  My heart broke for her when Kody made the baby decision for her because it felt cold and like a rejection to me on more than just that, and I'm not even in the situation.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Snarklepuss